Fraud
in law, all deceitful practices in defrauding or endeavoring to defraud another of his known right, by means of some artful device, contrary to the plain rules of common honesty.
It is condemned by the common law, and punishable according to the heinousness of the offense. All frauds and deceits for which there is no remedy by the ordinary course of law are properly cognizable in equity, and, indeed, constitute one of the chief branches of cases to which the jurisdiction of chancery was originally confined. Pious Fraud.-In Church history, a fraud considered to be "pious" because it was planned and carried out for some pious object. From the 1st to the 15th century believers in such frauds existed.
Statute of Frauds. In English law, a statute passed in 1676. Among its complex provisions several enacted that important contracts about land, etc., should be in writing, so as to prevent the perjury which occurred when they had to be proved by parole evidence.
This statute has been re-enacted in most of the States of the American Union generally with omissions, amendments, or alterations. When the words of the statute have been used, the construction put upon them has also been adopted. a